SOA, EII and Model Driven Architecture Solution Offering

From MIKE2.0 Methodology

This article is currently Under Construction. It is undergoing major changes as it is in the early stages of development. Users should help contribute to this article to get it to the point where is ready for a Peer Review.

This Solution Offering currently receives Minor Coverage in the MIKE2.0 Methodology through the Overall Implementation Guide and SAFE Architecture, but Activities are missing and there are no detailed Supporting Assets. In summary, the Solution Offering has not yet been formulated to the point where it should be used.

Introduction

The SOA, EII and Model Driven Development Solution Offering provides an approach for implementing advanced architecture techniques to increase reuse, reduce complexity and improve software quality across the Information Management environment. The solution offering provides high level solution architecture options, logical implementation techniques and design patterns. Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) techniques are provided that can enable capabilities to be built for interfaces and business services, as well as specific information-oriented services. Enterprise Information Integration (EII) uses many of the same technology components underpinning current EAI implementations, but in a manner that is optimized for information integration as opposed to application or process integration. It also provides newer techniques being applied for federated/virtual integration. Model Driven Development techniques take a metadata-driven approach with the aim of improving software quality and speed of delivery.

Executive Summary

Solution Offering Purpose

This is a Core Solution Offering. Core Solution Offerings bring together all assets in MIKE2.0 relevant to solving a specific business and technology problem. Many of these assets may already exist and as the suite is built out over time, assets can be progressively added to an Offering.

A Core Solution Offering contains all the elements required to define and deliver a go-to-market offering. It can use a combination of open, shared and private assets.

Solution Offering Relationship Overview

This Solution Offering is part of the Information Management Strategy, Architecture and Governance Offering Group

MIKE2.0 Solution Offerings provide a detailed and holistic way of addressing specific problems. MIKE2.0 Solution Offerings can be mapped directly to the Phases and Activities of the MIKE2.0 Overall Implementation Guide, providing additional content to help understand the overall approach. The MIKE2.0 Overall Implementation Guide explains the relationships between the Phases, Activities and Tasks of the overall methodology as well as how the Supporting Assets tie to the overall methodology and MIKE2.0 Solutions. Users of the MIKE2.0 Methodology should always start with the Overall Implementation Guide and the MIKE2.0 Usage Model as a starting point for projects.

Solution Offering Definition

Relationship to Solution Capabilities

Relationship to Enterprise Views

Mapping to the Information Governance Framework

Mapping to the SAFE Architecture Framework

Mapping to the Overall Implementation Guide

Shown below are the key activities from the Overall Implementation Guide that are used as part of this Solution Offering.

Phase 1 - Business Assessment and Strategy Definition Blueprint

Enterprise Information Management Awareness

SOA, EII and MDA are advanced concepts at most organisations. It is particularly important that Enterprise Information Management Awareness sessions be held on these architectural techniques before starting the programme.

Organisational QuickScan for Information Development

The maturity assessments from the Organisational QuickScan for Information Development activity are important for this offering to understand technology gaps and the scope of work. SOA/MDA/EII are typically he most mature architectural solutions that organisations have as part of their technology vision. This work may have already been conducted as part of a larger strategic effort.

Future-State Vision for Information Management

The Future State Vision for Information Management defines the strategic conceptual architecture for how SOA, MDA and EII solutions will be implemented. This is the first significant step in the architecture strategy work for this solution offering.

Return on Investment of Information Assets

As one of the primary goals of SOA/MDA/EII projects is reuse, the Return on Investment of Information Assets should be aligned with this architecture strategy. This activity is under development and should be expanded so that reuse assessments across the Technology Backplane can feed into the assessment model.

This activity is under development and should be expanded so that reuse assessments across the Technology Backplane can feed into the assessment model.

Phase 2 - Technology Assessment and Selection Blueprint

Strategic Requirements for Technology Backplane Development

Strategic Functional Requirements should be the drivers for the advanced architectural capabilities of this solution offering. The Functional Requirements along the Technology Backplane are the input for the core set of capabilities for these architectural models.

Strategic Non-Functional Requirements

Strategic Non-Functional Requirements should also feed into the capability requirements for this offering. Non-Functional Requirements will relate to areas such as performance, usability and reusability.

Future-State Logical Architecture and Gap Analysis

The Strategic Logical Architecture builds on the conceptual architecture. It provides a translation of the strategic functional and non-functional requirements into capabilities that will be fulfilled by the solution. The gap analysis process is important for defining how the future-state architecture will provide capabilities not available today. There is often a significant gap for organisations moving to advanced architectures, so its is important to make sure to get foundation capabilities in place along the way.

Future State Physical Architecture and Vendor Selection

The Future-State Logical Architecture and Gap Analysis defines the strategic product set that will be used as part of the implementation. Moving to an advanced architecture will often require a number of new technologies and a complex selection process.

Data Standards

Data Standards are used for defining how the technology that will be implemented is important, particulaly with the implementation of a number of new technologies.

Metadata Driven Architecture

Moving to a Metadata Driven Architecture is a key enabler for moving to advanced architectural techniques such as SOA and MDA and is essential for EII. All of these architectural techniques make a metadata management a by-product of the software development process and make use of the code artifacts that are generated into a metadata repository.

Phase 3 - Information Management Roadmap and Foundation Activities

Enterprise Information Architecture

The Enterprise Information Architecture defines the scope for Enterprise Information Integration of systems in a federated environment. By first defining the conceptual model in this activity, the overall scope of the problem is defined.

Message Modelling

Message Modelling should be applied to define the interface schemas modelling data in motion across the federated environment. It could possibly be generalised to cover taxonomic development and may also be expanded to cover unstructured content models.

Data Profiling

Data Profiling may be conducted to quantitatively understand data quality issues and define business rules. This assessment process may directly feed into the design process for an EII/MDA project.

Solution Architecture Definition/Revision

Solution Architecture Definition/Revision is applied to define the architectural approach specific to an increment. This activity should be extended to relate more specifically to advanced architectures or generalised and make use of Supporting Assets to cover these capabilities.

Prototype the Solution Architecture

It is important to Prototype the Solution Architectureto test many of these advanced concepts. The prototype should be representative of the major use cases this solution will need to fulfill.

Mapping to Supporting Assets

Logical Architecture, Design and Development Best Practices

Product-Specific Implementation Techniques

Product Selection Criteria

Relationships to other Solution Offerings

Extending the Open Methodology through Solution Offerings

Listed below are proposed extensions to the Overall Implementation Guide to meet the requirements for this Solution Offering:

Potential Activity Changes

Organisational QuickScan for Information Development

The existing QuickScan assessments should be extended to better cover the advanced archiectural concepts related to SOA/MDA/EII.

Return on Investment of Information Assets

This activity is under development and should be expanded so that reuse assessments across the Technology Backplane can feed into the assessment model.

Data Standards

This activity should potentially be extended (or another activity be added) to cover some of the other area of development standards.

Message Modelling

This activity could possibly be generalised to cover taxonomic development and may also be expanded to cover unstructured content models.

Solution Architecture Definition/Revision

This activity should be extended to relate more specifically to advanced architectures or generalised and make use of Supporting Assets to cover these capabilities.

Prototype the Solution Architecture

This activity should be extended to relate more specifically to advanced architectures or generalised and make use of Supporting Assets to cover these capabilities.